Per The Independent, Apple has told sources at “several” of the UK’s major carriers have told the newspaper that Apple intends to forego near-field communications for the iPhone 5 this year. That intel is reportedly coming directly from meetings with the Cupertino brain trust, which is said to be dissatisfied with the current lack of a clear, universal NFC standard. It’s generally been Apple’s wont to omit or delay features it doesn’t feel it can implement well, and NFC looks fated to be another one on that list.

So, if you were looking for near-field communications with your iPhone 5, you might have to wait a bit longer.

As good as Apple’s intentions might have been, there might be an issue at hand.

Per the Apple Discussions forum, the latest update for the Apple TV set top box has created new issues and problems for some, as numerous users have reported screen flickering with various high-definition TV sets.

A number of users has posted that screen flickering issues that arose after the Apple TV 4.2 update released this week. The problems reportedly occur on a variety of TV sets from different manufacturers.

“There is a flicker (screen flash?) at random intervals of about once per second for a few tenths of a second,” user RamonOC wrote. “And every 10-15 seconds (random), there is a complete video dropout for about a second or two. The audio is OK during all of this. It seems to affect every type of video including both menus and movies, including Netflix and home sharing.”

Owners of TV sets made by Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, Samsung, and Toshiba have reported similar issues after installing the 4.2 update. The flickering issue has been reported with a variety of configurations, including with a direct HDMI video connection, or with an HDMI to DVI adapter.

Most of the users who have shared their problems in the forum seem to own older TV sets that run at the 1080i resolution. The new US$99 Apple TV, released late last year, does not support 1080i, but many TV sets and receivers will accept a 720p input and simply convert it to the compatible 1080i resolution.

Conversion of the Apple TV from 720p to 1080i reportedly worked fine for many users prior to the 4.2 update, which Apple released on Wednesday. The software update expanded support for AirPlay, added access to live streaming games from NBA League Pass and MLB.TV, and brought 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound for streaming Netflix movies and TV shows.

In addition to flickering issues, users said they are unable to change the HDMI output setting on the Apple TV after the 4.2 update was installed. For those users, HDMI output has been set to “Auto,” and some have had their output resolution changed to a non-high-definition 480p picture which cannot be changed.

“I contacted Apple Tech Support tonight, and they sent it up to engineering,” user kag49601 wrote. “The tech I spoke with had not heard of the problem yet, but after reading this thread, I am surprised by that… Hopefully we will all get another update to this so we can use our apple tv 2’s with our older TV’s once again.”

A fresh test on Thursday confirmed that Yahoo’s IMAP mail bug had been fixed. Per Electronista, Yahoo quietly upgraded its mail servers so that they now respond with only the data they were asked for, rather than the 25 times higher amount they were producing before. Rafael Rivera at Within Windows noted that it had previously sent the entire message header.

The improvement should cure a problem first discovered on Windows Phone 7 that led to a glut of data every time the devices checked mail. Later discoveries found that it also affected at least iPhone owners, but all of them carried the risk of running over bandwidth caps on carriers like AT&T.

Microsoft knew of the cause in Yahoo’s servers weeks after it was found but declined to name it, leaving customers without an idea as to which services to turn off. It instead gave them blanket instructions to turn off automatic mail checks or to disable cellular data. It wasn’t until Rivera investigated himself and confronted Microsoft that it was forced to acknowledge the source.

If you’ve seen any changes in your Yahoo mail on your iPhone, please let us know.

Apple’s iOS 4.3 update hit yesterday and within hours, developers had found further evidence that Apple plans to use its dual-core A5 processor in the next-generation iPhone.

Per iClarified, developers have found references to the A5 processor in a kernel file for a device codenamed N94AP, widely assumed to be the iPhone 5, within the code for iOS 4.3 (full picture available here).

According to the report, the A5 chip is referred to as S5L8940 in the iOS 4.3 code and, as expected, is also listed as the processor for the Wi-Fi, GSM and CDMA versions of the iPad 2.

Apple released iOS 4.3 on Wednesday, ahead of Friday’s iPad 2 launch and two days earlier than originally expected. The software update improves JavaScript performance in the mobile Safari web browser, features third-party support for AirPlay wireless streaming and adds the Personal Hotspot feature first introduced on the Verizon CDMA iPhone 4 in February.

Apple took the wraps off the new A5 processor last week when it unveiled the faster, thinner and lighter iPad 2. A recent rumor suggested that Apple has turned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce the A5 chip, rather than staying with Samsung, its original partner for the A4 processor.

– iTunes Home Sharing – Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2).

– New Airplay features – Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party appsand websites on Apple TV – Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV.

Amongst the biggest inclusions are Home Sharing (the ability to stream audio and video from iTunes on a local network to the iOS device); AirPlay (the ability to stream audio and video from the iOS device to an Apple TV or computer) for third-party developers; and the ability to create a personal WiFi hotspot from an iPhone or iPad with 3G support.

Per Macworld UK, users may need a qualifying data plan from your carrier and any necessary hotspot or tethering options to enable the much-anticipated Personal Hotspot feature. Users with an unlocked iPhone can use the feature without restriction. However, we advise users of this feature to keep a close eye on data charges as some mobile phone companies are now restricting data usage.

A couple of minor features snuck into iOS 4.3. Users can now enable Push Notifications for Ping activity, and the iPod app’s Now Playing screen offers the options to post about songs and like them on your Ping profile. Also new is a preference to specify how many times an SMS alert is repeated, as well as a conference dialing option to add a pause for entering a passcode.

Missing from iOS 4.3, however, are the new multitouch gestures that Apple asked developers to test on the iPad during the beta period. Gestures like four- and five-finger swipes could switch between apps and reveal the multitasking bar, and a pinch could exit an app and return you to the Home Screen. With the second iOS 4.3 beta, however, Apple clarified that these features were only for testing and would not ship to consumers in the final version. Obviously, they could return in a future iOS update or upgrade, but Apple hasn’t stated any plans.

iOS 4.3 is available now as a free update in iTunes for the iPad, iPhone 3GS, the GSM iPhone 4, and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. As for the Verizon iPhone 4, it runs a custom version of iOS 4.2.6 that includes some features like hotspot support. Comments from an Apple representative at the iPad 2 event suggest that it might take a little while for Verizon’s iPhone 4 to converge with the same iOS version as Apple’s other mobile devices.

If you’ve snagged the iOS 4.3 update, please let us know how it’s working on your devices, for better or for worse.

Late Tuesday, Apple released iTunes 10.2.1, the latest version of its multimedia/jukebox application for Mac OS X. The new version, a 75.6 megabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

– iTunes 10.2.1 also includes improved Home Sharing, and lets users play music from their iTunes library on any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch over Wi-Fi using iOS 4.3. Any other changes to iTunes from version 10.2 are likely minor, as Apple did not detail them.

iTunes 10.2.1 is available via Mac OS X’s Software Update feature and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later to install and run.

After years of the squabble between Adobe’s Flash format and Apple’s push towards HTML5, Adobe may be developing a product to bridge the two sides. Per Macworld UK, Adobe Systems has released a preview of its Wallaby technology, which enables developers to leverage Flash development skills to build HTML files that can run on systems without the need for the Flash Player, including Apple iOS devices.

Wallaby, which will be offered for free on the Adobe Labs website, helps developers convert a Flash file created in the Flash Professional development tool to HTML. Apple’s iOS, which does not support Flash Player, is the primary use case for Wallaby. Output can also run on WebKit-based browsers like Safari and Chrome, said Tom Barclay, senior product manager for the Adobe Creative Suite business.

“It is an experimental technology that provides a glimpse of innovation that we’re doing around Flash and HTML and showing the investment that we’re making in both technologies we think are important for the long term,” Barclay said. The output of Wallaby enables use of not just HTML but also SVG and CSS, which are related technologies.

Wallaby is an AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) application for the Windows and Mac platforms. Developers can convert files to HTML5 via drag-and-drop functionality, Adobe said. Once files have been converted, developers can edit using an HTML editing tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, or by hand.

Wallaby was previewed last fall at the Adobe Max conference in Los Angeles. At this point, Adobe cannot indicate a product road map, as the company still is inviting user feedback.

As much as you love a certain selection in the Apple Store locations, the old stuff has to go.

Per The Loop, Apple reportedly plans to ax some hardware and software products from its store shelves to make room for an expansion of its popular personalized in-store setup service. The lineup includes some of the printers, scanners and potentially hard drives presently on display. Though they will not be directly shown in the store, such peripherals will still be available for sale if a customer requests them.

Apple is also said to drastically cut the number of games it sells in stores. Sources reportedly said that the company will get rid of 32 game titles from its retail locations, leaving each store with only about 8 games on display.

Unlike the hardware, which will still be available for sale, the games will not be available for purchase in Apple stores, as such software is said to not be strong sellers. Customers will reportedly be advised that they can download titles for Mac OS X from the Mac App Store.

In order to expand its personalized setup program, the article stated said that new employees are being hired in some locations. In other stores, the employee that sells a product will be the one to do the setup.

The personal setup service is said to be viewed as an opportunity for Apple to differentiate itself from competitors. With the service, customers are guided through setting up their Mac, signing up for an iTunes account, and given a quick walkthrough of the Mac experience.

In February, it was said that the initial success of the Mac App Store has sped up Apple’s plans to cease all sales of boxed software at its retail stores. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company allegedly plans to rely solely on digital distribution of software, and in the process will clear out space in its retail stores.

The company has also halted retail boxed sales of one of its own major digital products, MobileMe, late last month. The cloud-based syncing service, which costs US$99 a year, is rumored to receive a significant makeover in the near future.

Let us know if you’ve seen anything of this on your end and please let us know what you think of the changes in the comments.

Per the Apple Core, the cool cats at Other World Computing took another look at the memory limits in some of Apple’s late 2008 Core 2 Duo MacBook and MacBook Pros. Its testing found that a specific blend of updated firmware, Boot ROM and OS versions will let the notebooks handle a 8GB RAM upgrade.

According to a recent entry in the company blog, the tip says that machines running the latest update to Snow Leopard can address 8GB rather than the previous 6GB limit. It all depends on which version of the EFI Firmware Update and Boot ROM is installed.

The practical upshot of all this is that if you installed the EFI Update when it first came out, like we did, you would have gotten the old code, which meant your computer would only address 6GB properly. Those who didn’t upgrade until after Apple changed the updater got the newer firmware, which allowed proper addressing of 8GB.

Upon manually installing the “updated” version of the EFI Firmware in various test machines, the notebooks were able to address 8GB normally, without any crashing or slowdowns.

Users may have to download updated Boot ROMs, make sure they are running OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.6. According to the blog post, the machine must run the Mac OS X 10.6.6 software.